Review of Girl Unknown by Karen Perry

Hello Readers,

This past week I took this book with me on a weekend trip away and in my purse so I could squeeze in a few minutes reading it. Girl Unknown is not my typical genre. I tend to shy away from the thriller mystery genre because I can be a bit sensitive to certain content in books. The description of this book sounded like just my type of mystery though because it didn't seem to involve any of the usual things that make me need to leave a book unfinished. I am actively trying to choose some books in this genre because I do love a book that makes me keep turning the pages to figure out what is going to happen.  Girl Unknown was exactly that for me. I kept telling my husband that I needed to know what was going to happen to these characters because I couldn't stop thinking about them. The story was both fascinating and strange enough that it kept me wanting to keep turning the pages. 

"I think you might be my father."

That was the line that made me think this book might take me on an interesting adventure. The unknown daughter byline has been done before, but in this book, it was done in a way that both fascinated me and weirded me out. The book pulled me along not because it was an "oh my goodness I can't believe that happened!" way, but instead, it kept me wanting to turn the pages because it was a story about an average family and what happens when the dynamic of that family is suddenly forced to change. The Conelly family is put in a position where they are suddenly forced to welcome a daughter into their family dynamic who they previously did not even know existed. The family as a whole was operating in relative unison, but behind the calm front, there were small cracks in David and Caroline's marriage due to the fact that Caroline had an affair a few years ago. After the affair ended they both decided to stay together and work on their marriage. When Caroline cheated on David it left his trust marred and many feelings left unsaid, and with the sudden appearance of a daughter, he did not know existed emotions are high. Honestly, the family drama is what kept me reading. The drama was so weird and had me fascinated. I was also thankful that none of it was not happening to me. The book is written from alternating perspective of both Caroline and David. The alternating perspective worked really well in this book because you got to go inside the minds of both characters who were each dealing with the entrance of a new family member and how each one was dealing with the entrance of Zoe in very different ways. 

I enjoyed reading this book almost entirely. The ending was not exactly what I expected. I felt a little unsettled by a few of the ending moments, but overall I enjoyed reading about this girl who walks into the lives of a family and abruptly makes her presence known. 

Overall Rating - 3/5 Stars

Thank you to Henry Holt Books for generously supplying me with a review copy of Girl Unknown by Karen Perry. I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review. All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Hardcover: 304 pages

Release Date: February 6, 2018

Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. 

ISBN-10: 0805098747

Happy Reading,

Rachael